1089 and All That

A Journey into Mathematics

David Acheson

Includes entertaining illustrations, photos and drawings (some by famous cartoonists)

Develops readers' knowledge at a gentle and digestible pace

1089 and All That

A Journey into Mathematics

David Acheson

Description

David Acheson's extraordinary little book makes mathematics accessible to everyone. From very simple beginnings he takes us on a thrilling journey to some deep mathematical ideas. On the way, via Kepler and Newton, he explains what calculus really means, gives a brief history of pi, and even takes us to chaos theory and imaginary numbers. Every short chapter is carefully crafted to ensure that no one will get lost on the journey. Packed with puzzles and illustrated by world famous cartoonists, this is one of the most readable and imaginative books on mathematics ever written.

1089 and All That

A Journey into Mathematics

David Acheson

Table of Contents

1. 1089 and All That2. "In Love with Geometrie"3. But ... that's Absurd ...4. The Trouble with Algebra5. The Heavens in Motion6. All Change!7. On Being as Small as Possible8. "Are We Nearly There?"9. A Brief History of pi10. Good Vibrations11. Great Mistakes12. What is the Secret of All Life?13. e=2.718 ...14. Chaos and Catastrophe15. Not Quite the Indian Rope Trick16. Real or Imaginary?

1089 and All That

A Journey into Mathematics

David Acheson

Author Information

Professor David Acheson is Emeritus Fellow at Jesus College, Oxford. As well as 1089 and All That, his other previously published titles include Elementary Fluid Dynamics (OUP, 1990) and From Calculus to Chaos: An Introduction to Dynamics (OUP, 1997).

1089 and All That

A Journey into Mathematics

David Acheson

From Our Blog

By David Acheson I've just had a great time at the 2012 Edinburgh International Book Festival, even though it was a rather strange experience for a mathematician. In the Author's Yurt (sic), for example, I was surrounded by fiction writers, with lots of pointy beards and wild hair. As it happens, I used to write detective stories when I was a young boy, so once had vague dreams of becoming a fiction writer myself.